It has been a long time since the Super Bowl, and remembering exactly how things left off last year can be a challenge. So, I’ll be writing up a fantasy preview for each NFL team to give us a quick refresher on what happened last year, and what changes took place in the offseason. All fantasy stats will be in ESPN scoring format unless otherwise noted.
If I missed any change or left out any big notes, throw them down in the comments for me!
What Did They Do Last Year
The Indianapolis Colts finished second in the AFC South at 11-5, and went on to lose to the Buffalo Bills on Wild Card Weekend.
The Phillip Rivers experiment was a moderate success, I’d say. The Colts were more competitive than if they’d given Jacoby Brissett the starting nod, and so their fifth-youngest roster in 2020 (per NFLTradeRumors.co) didn’t stunt their development playing on a bad team.
2020 offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni has moved in to a head coaching position with the Philadelphia Eagles, and so last year’s Quarterback Coach Marcus Brady has been promoted to OC. But with offensive guru and head coach Frank Reich sticking around I expect the Colts offense will remain one we target heavily for fantasy.
Quarterback
| OVR Rank | Player | G | COMP | ATT | YDS | TD | INT | ATT | YDS | TD | FFP | FFP/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Philip Rivers | 16 | 370 | 544 | 4,169 | 24 | 11 | 18 | -8 | 0 | 238 | 14.9 |
| 49 | Jacoby Brissett | 11 | 2 | 8 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 19 | 3 | 20.6 | 1.9 |
The Colts made a pretty bold move this offseason, picking up Carson Wentz from the Eagles in exchange for a third rounder and what will likely end up being a first-round pick.
The last time Wentz played for Frank Reich, Wentz was in MVP discussions. The optimists will see a talent-rich Colts offense as all systems go in a weak division. Pessimists will point to a long injury history and an absolutely horrid 2020 season which ended for Wentz when rookie second rounder Jalen Hurts came off the bench to finish out the last few games of the season.
Wentz is a late-round target for me going in to 2021. He’s currently ranked our QB15 heading into 2021.
Wide Receivers
| PPR Rank | STD Rank | Player | G | TGT | REC | YDS | TD | STD PTS | STD PTS/G | PPR PTS | PPR PTS/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | 40 | T.Y. Hilton | 15 | 93 | 56 | 762 | 5 | 106.2 | 7.1 | 162.2 | 10.81 |
| 56 | 54 | Zach Pascal | 16 | 71 | 44 | 629 | 5 | 92.9 | 5.8 | 136.9 | 8.56 |
| 78 | 86 | Michael Pittman Jr. | 13 | 60 | 40 | 503 | 1 | 58.9 | 4.5 | 98.9 | 7.61 |
| 129 | 126 | Marcus Johnson | 8 | 28 | 14 | 255 | 0 | 25.5 | 3.2 | 39.5 | 4.94 |
| 157 | 155 | DeMichael Harris | 6 | 10 | 10 | 79 | 0 | 12.5 | 2.1 | 22.5 | 3.75 |
| 166 | 167 | Parris Campbell | 2 | 9 | 6 | 71 | 0 | 8.7 | 4.4 | 14.7 | 7.35 |
| 180 | 175 | Ashton Dulin | 7 | 6 | 3 | 53 | 0 | 6.4 | 0.9 | 9.4 | 1.34 |
| 199 | 197 | Daurice Fountain | 2 | 3 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 4.3 | 2.15 |
The Colts re-signed potential free agent T.Y. Hilton, bringing back the 31-year-old for 2021. It was a down year for Hilton who had a hard time syncing up with Phillip Rivers, but Hilton had a blazing finish to the season.
Youngsters Michael Pittman Jr., Parris Campbell, and Zach Pascal will all compete for targets, looking to prove they’re the incumbent whenever T.Y. moves on. Pascal might end up being the cheapest in fantasy terms, and he could also end up leading the team in receptions making his living underneath coverages.
Running Backs
| PPR Rank | STD Rank | Player | G | ATT | YDS | TD | TGT | REC | YDS | TD | STD PTS | STD PTS/G | PPR PTS | PPR PTS/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 4 | Jonathan Taylor | 15 | 232 | 1,169 | 11 | 41 | 36 | 299 | 1 | 216.8 | 14.5 | 252.8 | 16.85 |
| 16 | 26 | Nyheim Hines | 16 | 89 | 380 | 3 | 77 | 64 | 482 | 4 | 128.2 | 8 | 192.2 | 12.01 |
| 70 | 70 | Jordan Wilkins | 12 | 84 | 308 | 1 | 16 | 12 | 105 | 0 | 47.3 | 3.9 | 59.3 | 4.94 |
| 130 | 132 | Marlon Mack | 1 | 4 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 30 | 0 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 8.6 | 8.6 |
The Colts have had one of the best offensive lines in the league the past couple of years, and second-round pick Jonathan Taylor had an absolute monster of a rookie campaign despite battling through some injuries.
Taylor is one of the few backs who truly has the potential to finish a strong second to Christian McCaffrey in fantasy. He’s currently our RB6 for 2021, and Paddi’s No. 5 player for dynasty leagues.
Related: 2021 Fantasy Football Dynasty Rankings
Nyheim Hines benefitted from Phillip Rivers’s love of finding receivers out of the backfield. While Wentz isn’t know for targeting his backs (only 53 targets for Philly RBs in 2017), Reich and Wentz would be foolish not to keep the electric Hines involved. Hines should have weekly flex appeal in point per reception leagues and will be worth taking a shot on occasionally in standard formats. We have him ranked RB35 in .5PPR.
Tight End
| PPR Rank | STD Rank | Player | G | TGT | REC | YDS | TD | STD PTS | STD PTS/G | PPR PTS | PPR PTS/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 24 | Trey Burton | 11 | 47 | 28 | 250 | 3 | 55.3 | 5 | 83.3 | 7.57 |
| 29 | 27 | Mo Alie-Cox | 14 | 38 | 31 | 394 | 2 | 49.4 | 3.5 | 80.4 | 5.74 |
| 39 | 35 | Jack Doyle | 13 | 33 | 23 | 251 | 3 | 41.1 | 3.2 | 64.1 | 4.93 |
| 125 | 125 | Noah Togiai | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
While Wentz hasn’t historically featured his RBs in the passing game, he made sweet music with tight end Zack Ertz. This is exciting for folks looking to take a shot on a tight end not named Travis Kelce. The tricky part will be figuring out of athletic beast Mo Allie-Cox or savvy veteran Jack Doyle will win Carson’s heart. Both are ranked outside our top 30 tight ends.
2021 Draft
The Colts spent their first two picks (21 and 54) on Michigan defensive end Kity Paye and Vanderbilt DE Dayo Odeyingbo respectively. Play defense and run the football appear to be top priorities for the boys in blue.
The Schedule
The great Warren Sharp has the Colts with the sixth easiest schedule based on 2021 projected team wins. Playing in the soft AFC South should pay dividends for the Colts yet again.
Additional Notes
The retirement of Anthony Castonzo is a worry for the Colts, a worry they’ve attempted to address by bringing in former first-overall pick Eric Fisher. We’ll see if Fisher can step right in keep the Colts O-line a top flight unit.
What Does It All Mean?!?! (AKA – Bold predictions)
Taylor is already in the conversation for the overall RB1 in dynasty, and I wouldn’t fault anyone taking Taylor at 1.02 in their redraft leagues.
I believe in the Wentz/Reich combo and so I’m bullish on the Colts receivers this year. The sour taste T.Y. Hilton left in so many mouths has lead to his absolute steal of an ADP of WR52 (per Fantasy Football Calculator).
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Thanks to FFToday.com for hosting such great stats info!
Thanks to TheHuddle.com for their great Coaching Change Tracker